


Doomed Anyway

by RyuuBloke



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Fantastic Racism, Feels, Gen, Rants, Sadstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-19
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:04:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5164868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuuBloke/pseuds/RyuuBloke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the trolls who survived Act 5 were the ones to snap? What if Gamzee wasn't the one to receive Lil' Cal? This story deals with a different version of the 3-year meteor journey, but instead of Karkat, Kanaya, Terezi and Gamzee, we get Tavros, Eridan, Aradia, Equius and Nepeta. Lots of angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

I stare into the void, ignoring Sollux' screams behind me. I see Kanaya, waving, clutching the remaining bits of the Matriorb. They're not real, but still... Behind me, the humans emerge from the Sun. I ignore them. I stare at the austipice, but her shining skin fades quickly. She dissapears, and along with her, the others. I'm left alone.

***

I sit down on the ground, supporting my weight with my paws. I try not to look behind me at the friend who leaves, but forward toward the two who've just appeared. I smile at them, but the smile is weak and fake. I stand up and wave at them. The girl waves back. The boy shakes my hand. Eventually, I can't stop myself, so I glance behind me, to take one last look at Kanaya. But she's already gone. They all are. Terezi, Vriska, Sollux and Karkat. We're left in the cold. I stumble towards Equius, but his hands are wrapped around Aradia. Feeling abandoned and lost, I go back to the ground, just lying down. I keep my paws over my ears to shut off the world.

***

'Why?' The question won't leave my mind. The leader turning upon us - why did it happen? Though I was wired to love Equius, his arms give me no warmth. The metallic body always feels the same. That is to say, I feel nothing at all. He's wasting his energy.

'Nepeta needs this more, you know.' I tell him.

'Should I go to her?' he asks. I sigh.

'Yes.'

He leaves my side. It changes nothing. My mind is superior to theirs. Jealousy, treachery, selfishness - I don't have those qualities. I care only about the logically most advantageous option. Unlike Karkat.

***

Nothing was lost. Yellow, Jade, Teal, Blue and filthy mutant. Though two were highbloods, it doesn't matter. The sea dwellers are alive. The system is preserved. I hold Nepeta. Olive blood... The second lowest on the meteor, now that Aradia's blood has been removed. I divert my look to the lowest scum present - The bronze peasant. He dared to be born with with the power to commune. Does he think he's better than me? I bare my teeth.

***

My hands... One covered in Vriska's blood, one in my own. She cut me, but I've impaled her. How did I do it? Is this real? Is this a dream? Karkat said not to go to sleep. Is this what he meant? Yes, for sure. This must be a dream. I mean, a huge meteor flying between universes? Unthinkable, right? And Vriska dead? I laugh. What a silly thought. Who'd think a dream could be this crazy?

***

I stand tall. Or do I? My knees feel like dry sticks. The trident seems to be more like a crutch than a weapon. But I mustn't show my weakness. I am the heiress. My people need me more now than ever before. I adjust the tiara, sweep my hair back. I wipe the tears. I look at every face. Tavros, Equius... Eridan, Nepeta, Gamzee, and the new kids - Dave and Rose, I dare guess. They require my help. I consider each of them. Tavros looks broken. No surprise. He's only just killed his kismesis. Equius stares at him, fangs bared. He hasn't done anything to offend him, but I guess an aggressive character comes with being a highblood. Nepeta's stuck in his embrace. The cat-girl is too gentle for his arms, I can see the bruises forming on her skin. Gamzee... He's going below the surface. With what he's done, I can't say I'm surprised. Finally, Eridan. He's just sitting there, facing away from all of us, feet over the edge. I approach him.

'Is everything okay?'

The sea-dweller turns to me. His face looks surprised at first, then he grimaces. 'Now you care?' he says. Of course. I leave him to his mourning. Irregardless of what he feels like, I have had my own loss - Sollux' body lies on the floor in a pile of yellow blood. I pick him up and carry him below the deck.

***

Motherfucking lowbloods. Sitting there, all sad and depressed, like they've been hit by a tragedy. Their lives are the motherfucking tragedy. The day they were born, this was the fate they'd been assigned. To be pathetic, worthless tools. Existing only to serve us, their superiors. The one of them who had a chance to be somewhat useful decided to decline her duty. Disgusting.

The fucking sopor slime was blinding me. For so many years, I trusted the single most revolting one in their little crew. We were  _moirails_. I had a crush on the communer. All of them worthless, all sinners. I can't bare to see their faces any longer. I descend down the stairs and delve deep into the meteor's dark corridors.

Suddenly, I see the fake heiress' ugly mug. She's clutching the yellowblood's corpse. What do I need to do to get away from these motherfuckers?

'Out of my way, traitor.' I say.

'You're not my superior, Gamzee. You can't speak to me like that.' she replies. Her face looks more pleading than commanding. 'But anyway, I'm not here to talk to you, anyway, so... See you.'

The girl passes me and I shudder. One fling of the club and she's gone. But I miss the chance. I'll get her later. I'll get them all. Just like I'd dealt with Karkat, I'll deal with the rest of 'em.


	2. Planning Ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited once replace redundancy.

'C'mon, show some enthusiasm, guys!' I say, showing the cutest smile I can muster. 'We've got to figure this out!'

'According to my observations, this place is equipped with all the things necessary for our survival.' says Rose.

Rose has been quite active in our community, unlike Dave, who's just sitting on the side, rolling his eyes from one side to the other, examining everyone. Or maybe not? To be honest, it's hard to tell from behind the glasses. He seems like a cool guy, even though he mistrusts us. We don't have faith in him, either. His skin is a little creepy. Then again, so was Kanaya's at first, and she... She's gone. I regret not taking that final look at her, the last smile.

'Whoever built this definitely planned for a lot of people to stay here for a long of time.' says Feferi.

'My calculations have determined the supplies will last us for twelve years if we ration them carefully.' says Aradia.

'Cool. Then we can eat as much as we want.' says Dave.

'Excuse me?'

'Well, if we got four times as much food as we need, we don't need to ration it, right?'

He's got a point. Aradia looks distraught - not a reaction expected from a robot, yet somehow one that makes sense in her case. She's not exactly the most normal of robots - after all, not too long ago, we could all see her alive and well. Until Vriska came along, that is. Ever since, whether a living corpse or robot, Aradia has been extremely stoic. She would show emotion sometimes, but very rarely. Now that she's a machine, one can almost never tell what lies behind her metal visage.

Of course not worrying about how much food we've got is a great thing. One less thing to care about in a time like this. With so many problems, it's nice to have at least one thing which doesn't invite concern. So many of our friends are gone, but the rest aren't in the best of shapes, either. Eridan had tried to fight Karkat and now he's wounded and I can't help but feel like Equius and Tavros aren't on the best of terms. I clearly remember Equius grunting his name while he hugged me and the pain he caused me at that moment.

So much is going badly. I want to suggest sorting out our personal issues before we think of anything else, but such things are too intimate for a formal meeting like this. Rose and Aradia may be good for organizing the facts, but I am the Heart player in this session, and I will have to be the one to take care of that. After all, I'm the only one everyone trusts, right? Well, I haven't seen Gamzee since we left, but I'm sure everybody else likes me, so the task of unifying our group is mine.

The meeting reaches its conclusion while I'm not focused.

'Thank you for showing up, guys. Could you please tell Equius and Gamzee to join us next time? Nepeta?'

I guess Feferi reached the same conclusion. I agree. 'Sure, I'll see what can be done with Equius! Not sure about Gamzee, though...'

'I'm going to vote for "Fuck that guy".' Eridan says. 'I mean, he leaves us, hides away, and expects us to care for him? Fuck no. Let him do what he wants, I don't care.'

'It's not about what we think of him, Eridan. He's a high-blood with no moirail. I believe especially you should know what that fact means?' says Aradia.

That was dirty. We all know what Eridan did back on the ship, but you can't hold it against him now. It's not like the Matriorb would be any help now! And he even did his best to help after that. His noble blood wasn't the reason, anyone could snap at a time like that. The same thing happened to Karkat and Vriska. Even Gamzee! If she wasn't an emotionless husk, I'd think Aradia is trying to take out our collective frustration at him. I stay quiet, anyway, the risk of making things worse is too great now.

'Oh, so that's what you're doing now. Passive-aggression. Great! That's exactly what I need right now.' Apparently, Eridan doesn't care.

'I was merely saying what is true. Considering what happened to you personally, I theorized you would understand the need to control Gamzee's temper.'

'Huh? Well... I guess yeah? I mean, it does make sense. Sorry for getting angry like that.'

'But, uh... Who do you think could possibly deal with him?' Tavros said. 

'I was hoping Nepeta would be able to?' This time it is Aradia who speaks to me.

'I told you! I can try, but no purromises!' I say.

'Alright, everybody! We've got pretty much everything figured out for now. You can all get back to your business.' Feferi closes the meeting and the group disperses quickly. Before I leave, I hear her say 'Oh, and Nepeta, please tell me whenever you find out something about those two.'

'Okay.' 

The meeting wasn't Feferi's idea. She didn't tell us, but it's obvious. She was never the kind of girl to take initiative and become a leader. If truth be told, the girl was too scared of the Empress to act, so she hid in her hive, only speaking to others through Trollian and even when we met, it was Karkat who took charge, not her. No, I'm sure it was Rose who suggested this idea, after all, ever since she and Dave appeared, she's been trying to find out more about us and the meteor, trying really hard to figure out how to deal with living alongside an alien race on a rock in the middle of literally nowhere.

I leave the room and climb the stairs to find a corridor. Most of us don't live together - we just picked whichever rooms we liked and moved in, so we're spaced pretty widely. However, my room is right next to Equius', because we both wanted to stay close to each other. Aradia's place is far away, nowhere close to us. Equius feels like she's trying to distance herself from him, but it's obvious to me that she doesn't care about where her room is in relation to the others. What's important in her mind is to stay close to the most important parts of the facility.

I open the door to my moirail's room and go in. He's sitting with his back turned, tinkering with some machine. It seems he doesn't notice me, so I take the chance to lower my body, lean forward, make sure my feet are working right... I step a little closer, and when I'm in range, I unbend my knees and tacklepounce him! 

He may be strong, but he wasn't prepared. My weight is enough to topple him, and we both fall to the ground, pulling his contraption along for the ride.

'Nepeta? When did you come in?' he says in confusion, lying on the floor with me on top. 

'Just a minute ago!'

'I haven't noticed you.'

'Of course you haven't!' I hold up my front paws. 'I'm quiet like the breeze!'

Equius chuckles. 'I see you haven't gone soft yet! Can I stand up now?'

I answer his chuckle with a laugh. Smiling, I get off him, letting him sit up.

'So what brings you here?' he asks.

'Meow? Do I need a reason?' I say.

'Typically, when you visit someone, there is some sort of point to it.'

'Maybe I just wanted to see you! But, since you want a reason so much, let's say I came here to roleplay!' 

We proceed to play for a while. I'm the mighty Leijon as always, and Equius is a limeblood on the run. The scenario is a bit strange, but I humor him, because roleplay with Equius is always fun! For the first time in the last few days I see him smile. Eventually the pile of sweaty towels gets too large after I corner him time and time again. I help him pick up some of them and we head out for the laundry room.

'So, Equius... How have you been holding up?' I ask out of the blue.

'Huh? Why do you ask?' He looks at me, with a perplexed look on his face. A towel falls of his shoulder, so I lean down to pick it up.

'I've seen you sending some people mean looks and I want to know if something's going on.' I say while holding the wet thing in the little pile resting on my forearms. It's like a little kid to the one he's carrying.

'There's nothing you should worry about.' The one who made the towel sweaty in the first place doesn't take it back. I don't mind, I like his smell. 'Just some highblood things.'

'Well... Alright!' I say. No one can force Equius into doing or saying something he doesn't want to. Not even me! Once we get to the laundry room, I tell him I'll take care of washing his things. We part ways.

"A highblood with no moirail". It's not something that happens most of the time, but every once in a while, a troll with noble blood is left without a friend. They're already more aggressive than the usual person, but when left alone, those qualities amplify. It's not the fact that they don't have a friend that agitates them, rather that they had one, and now they're gone. It's a regular reaction. What isn't normal is how fierce a highblood can become when this happens. It's not unheard of for a huge massacre to happen after a moiralliegence breaks up. Come to think of it, that may be what happened with Eridan. We've all heard of how things ended up between him and Feferi. He felt betrayed, and his blood boiled, so he snapped. And then, the Matriorb was destroyed, leaving Eridan no hope. Suddenly, instead of a prince, he was the destroyer of hope.

I never thought something like that could happen to Equius. After all, he's always so kind to me. Sure, sometimes we end up quarreling, but things always go relatively calmly. But now, my previous certainty grows weak. He's a highblood, and as much as I may want to deny it, it's possible a tragedy may happen. Especially now that Aradia is teaming up with Feferi and the human to take charge... This outright rejection of the class system must make him furious. That's why I can't leave him. I can't let him crack. Eridan is weak, so he could only do as much, but Equius... With strenght like his, leaving him alone may be too much of a risk. But if I dedicate all my attention to him, what will happen with Gamzee? How can I take care of them both? And what about the others? Perhaps I'm not cut out for being the mediator for everyone, after all.

Before I notice, the washing is done. I take out the laundry, and hang it up so that it may dry. Equius should be fine for a while, so I try to find Gamzee. I remember what Feferi told us about their meeting and go to the same corridor she mentioned, but unfortunately, no one is there. I know people are counting on me, though, so I keep trying. Delving deeper and deeper into the darkness, I keep my eyes peeled and regret that I don't have my roleplaying persona's vision. No matter how hard I look, I can't discern anything, so I let my eyelids close and open my ears instead. It doesn't impair my ability to move. I could barely see anyway. 

Finally, a faint sound reaches my ears. It's not steps or talking. I hear the noise that has become Gamzee's signature: a quiet honk in the distance. Immediately, I stop and listen even more deeply. The sound repeats, so I turn my head to its direction. And again. It's closer, even though I didn't move an inch. The honks get closer and closer, louder and louder, but they keep the same rhythm. Finally, the sound of metal hitting the floor can me heard and immediately after that - a weight pushes me to the ground. 

'HONK!' I hear a voice filled with anger from above me.

I squirm, trying to free myself, but he's too strong. I try the next best thing, and let out the loudest scream I can. Hopefully, someone can hear me, even in the depths. But I can't yell for long, because Gamzee blocks my mouth.


	3. Leadership

'You are wasting time.'

Am I, now? What do you know, girl? A Time player like you can never comprehend what I'm going through. I should have the power to bring him back. I should, but I don't. Regardless of how many times I try kissing him, or waving my hands above him, or whatever else a Witch of Life does, he doesn't wake up. 

'Feferi.'

I cleaned him up and... and changed his clothes. The blood is gone, but he doesn't even resemble anyone who's alive. His skin has gone unnaturally pale, and his face is cracked. I focus my mind, and the scars dissapear. My lips touch his, and it seems a spark of heat appears inside of him. But the moment I open my eyes, it's gone. He's gone.

'Nepeta is gone.'

I snap out of my trance. 'What?'

'I said Nepeta is gone. Nobody's seen her in 72 hours.'

This is bad. Aradia was right. I shouldn't have spent so much time here... I neglected my subjects, and now one of them has dissapeared. I stand up. There's no time to lose. 

'Alright, we need to find out what's going on.' I say.

I was hoping she might have had something more to say on the matter, but as we climb up the many levels of the facility, Aradia stays quiet. Only the faint murmur of her machinery fills the vacuum. Step after step, we get closer to the surface, where my people await me. I make sure my posture is right, adjust the way I walk, lift my head. But... Does it matter? Is there really a difference? Do these guys really expect anything from me? After all, I've been pretty much useless our entire journey. Perhaps all of this is an empty effort.

Finally, we reach the top. The first thing to do is to find out Nepeta's last known location... We asked her to deal with Equius and Gamzee, and it's most likely she chose the easier target first. 

'Aradia, go ask everyone about this. Maybe you can find something. I'll go talk to Equius.' I say and head out for his room.

It doesn't take me long to find it. Even if I didn't know where it is, the smell of sweat his door emanates would help me locate it easily. This shouldn't be too hard. The way he is, I'm sure he'll cooperate. I knock on the door and call his name authoritavely. After a moment, the knob tilts down, and the door begins to slide open. Again, I straighten myself, and make sure I'm ready for this encounter.

'Y-your humble servant is at your service...' he says. I can feel my expression change. This is uncomfortable. But I must keep my cool.

'Equius. Have you seen Nepeta?' 

'No... Not lately... I'm sorry...'

'May I come in?'

He steps to the side quickly, letting me enter his room. The smell is so overwhelming it forces me to grimace. How can Nepeta bring herself to stay here? It's impossible not to respect her dedication to this moralliegence. I haven't spent much time with Equius earlier. Nepeta painted him as a jerk with a heart of gold. I take a look at his room and wonder exactly how deeply that gold is buried. How many used towels and metal parts will I need to shovel through to find it? How low will I have to sink myself in this sea of oil? Nevertheless, if I ever want to be a proper leader, I will have to get to know everyone. Though he's no joy to the senses, Equius may be the easiest for that, given his already... admirable respect towards me.

Right now, he stands before me, stiff and shy. Without a doubt, being visited by his highest superior must be a blood-chilling experience to one such as him. As such, I take the initiative by finding the cleanest chair I can see, sitting on it and inviting my host to do the same.

'You said you haven't seen her "recently"... But when was the last time you did?' I ask.

'Three days ago, Your Highness' The same answer as everybody's, or so I've heard.

'What were you doing?'

'She was actually helping me do the laundry.' Oh well, this explains the filth. I suppose Nepeta's help was the only thing keeping this place clean. But for it to become so dirty after only three days? 

'And what happened next?'

Equius grabs the seat of his chair. I can hear the sound of metal bending under his fingers.

'I... I left her... In the laundry room.'

'I sea.' I would like to ask for more details, but seeing his face, even more tense than before, I have to refrain from doing that. 'Thanks, Equius. This will be enough.' 

I stand up and leave him with a smile. Technically speaking, I haven't learned anything new from him. Were I to ask Aradia, she would probably tell me the same things he has... However, letting him know that I'm personally taking care of this will probably improve my reputation... Besides, I did get a better feel of what he's like, even if the meeting was so brief. 

After giving my partner some time to do her own searching, I meet up with her in the same room we held the bigger conference earlier. I briefly inform her of my intentions and take her along with me to the laundry room. Though I could go there myself, it could be dangerous. On our way there, we pass by Equius' room, the door to which is still open. I peek in and notice the owner is away. Not a huge deal, most likely.

Eventually, we reach our destination. We find nothing there except for a whole lot of white towels hung on the strings.

'Nepeta is not here.' Aradia says.

'You don't really need to tell me.' I start walking around the room, trying to find something relevant. 'I guess I haven't actually asked. Have you found out anything new?'

'I'm afraid not.'

We spend some more time in the laundry room, staying mostly quiet. Nothing new whatsoever turns up, and I realize we're out of leads. Well... Not really. There is one very large possibility. Gamzee.

Nepeta may have visited Equius first, but I also asked her to figure out where the Bard is. If no one has seen her, then it's very likely she's somewhere in the darker parts of the facility, maybe in his company. In fact, that's almost certainly what she'd do. But just like Equius is the easiest person for me to befriend, Gamzee might be the most challenging. His behavior was strange before, but after what he's done to Karkat, I have absolutely no idea what's going on in his head. Truth be told, I don't want to confront him. That is why I delegated that task to Nepeta... But now that she's been gone for so long, I can only assume it's because she's failed. Frankly, I'm scared of going into the dark now.

I hesitate to speak to Aradia about the only remaining possibility, but she takes care of that for me.

'Nepeta must be with Gamzee.'

'You think so?'

'Yes. We should follow in her footsteps, and search for him ourselves.'

'What if me missed something, though?'

'Highly unlikely. Let's go.' And thus, she leaves.

I would object, but Aradia is not the kind of girl... Well, robot thing, to care if I would, so all that is left for me to do is follow her. There's not much I can do to dispel my fear, but nevertheless, I try to focus on something else. However, the more I walk, the deeper I delve into the dark, the more my own darkness deepens. Eridan, Sollux, Kanaya... All of them either dead or distant. It seems I have nothing to be cheerful about whatsoever... I lower my head and let Aradia take the lead, while I try to open my ears for suspicious sounds. Focusing on that, at last, gives me some kind of relief.

***

It must have been hours since we departed. Aradia's eyes glow, lighting our way, but Gamzee and Nepeta are nowhere to be seen. Once again there's nothing stopping silence from taking charge other than the Maid's quiet grinding. The sound is not entirely unpleasant. At the very least, it gives my senses something to feel. Then again, I'm already feeling a lot. A lot of fatigue, that is.

'Can we rest for a while?' I ask.

'Again?'

'Look, I know you're never tired, and that's pretty cool... But I need some rest every once in a whale.'

'Very well.' She "sits" down. In reality, it looks more as if her legs detracted into themselves... Which is probably what happened.

After staring at the ground in silence, quietly wrestling with the realization, I ask the question. 'Aradia... We've been down here for so long... It's not that I doubt you or anything, but it kind of seems like we're lost.'

'We are looking for Gamzee.'

'The meteor is only so big... I think we've been everywhere by now.'

'If that is true, how come we haven't located him yet?'

'I... I don't know. Anyway, I'm pretty parched, and still tired. Maybe we can go up to rest up?'

She doesn't look at me as she responds. 'No. We must keep looking.'

'Uh... Maybe I can go back myself? Mind giving me the directions?'

This time, she does turn to me, but as always, her face hold no emotion. 'The highblood won't listen to me. Only a royal can control him. Therefore, you must stay here as well, and keep searching.'


	4. Rearrangements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uh... The final parts of this were written in a bit of a hurry. Sorry if they suck ,-, Hadn't even had them planned out before I wrote them.
> 
> In hindsight, this whole chapter seems kind of out-of-character for Eridan. But I hope your SoD won't shatter just yet.

This whole justice roleplaying thing is turning out to be easier than I expected. Having some of Terezi's old "scalemates" is definitely helpful, too. Unlike shipping, strange addictive liquids or dreams of flight, I think this might actually end up being a thing I do.

Oh, who am I kidding? Nothing can replace the old plotting. But what is there even left to plot about? Now, with just two of us left, there's nearly nothing I can do. I suppose I could try working out a deal with Tavros to enslave the humans... Then again, they've reached the god tiers. In the end, I can't plot against anyone. Commanding the lowblood on his own would be boring. Besides, he's dangerous, too. I'm stuck in the middle of a crowd of madmen.

'Go to hell, Count Snuffermore.' I say and throw one of the plushies at the wall.

'Guilty as charged.' It hits one of the drawings postered all over it. The remnants of another idea I had... After seeing some of the male human's artwork, I decided to have a go at it... And while of course I did well, I hated the drawings. Had to use the blood of failed grubs. Pathetic creatures, who couldn't even get past the brooding caverns. They deserve to be forgotten, not recycled, so I refuse to use them even as paint. 

It's pointless to think of them now. They're gone, just like the rest of Alternia. Come to think of it... Back on the meteor, while we were all alive and the Matriorb was still okay... There really was hope for a rebirth of the species. By some astounding feat of luck, we represented all the blood castes still alive - only lime was missing. Well, Aradia wasn't exactly alive, but perhaps the dissapearance of redbloods would be a good thing for the empire. We could have repopulated. Created a new society, with 10 castes. Such a nice, round number. I see it now. I wish I could see it then. Now, nothing is left. Purple and brown. Such an ugly, tasteless sludge. I guess there's nothing left for me but to brood over this. A moment passes as I do.

'Count Snuffermore. Don't you know that when someone is sad, the right thing is to console them?' The scalemate doesn't respond. Great mate my ass! What a douchebag. One flick of the wand later, his left foot is gone. Don't want to kill him, though - maybe he'll learn his lesson. I'm a highblood, for fuck's sake! It's everyone's duty to keep me pleased. They didn't and they paid the price - and so did Snuffermore.

Yeah, the roleplaying thing is easy.

***

Scorched eye, removed foot, tail burnt to ashes, unrecognizable snout. Some of the scalemates have been maimed beyond recognition. But those who survived know what it means to cross me now. Ha! Finally, some respect. But I cannot keep myself to the confines of this room! No, the world must meet their prince! 

My arm pushes the door out of the way. Should've opened on its own, but the bitch didn't want to, and now she has to pay. A smile stretches out my cheeks as I head out to the surveillance room. It's time to take a look at my kingdom. I pass empty rooms and silent hallways - all waiting to be filled by whatever I want! Haha! Prepare, all! Prepare for a new era! Like most of the meteor's facilities, the room has no door - only a staircase leading down the abyss. Only I, the Prince of Hope, can bring light to these depths with the shine of my wand! A ball of brightness dispels the dark, while the clicking of shoes destroyes the silence! The observation balcony of my kingdom awaits!

I reach the room - a solitary platform in the deepest darkness, surrounded by a sphere of monitors serving as the place's walls. But my light stops in its tracks, as do I. What is this supposed to mean?

'Hey, Eridan.' Tavros says, turning away from the monitors as they spark to life, devouring my own light allong with the darkness. 'What's up?'

He stands there, taller than ever thanks to the legs Equius made for him. They let off a metallic shine, reflecting the monitors. His posture is proud, but not stiff - rather, it feels as if he were looking down on me, even though I am significantly taller. His neck, usually lowered due to his horns' weight, is now perfectly rigid, supporting his large head with no trouble. Finally, his eyes - piercing and cold. The warm, brown colour seems faded, as if blocked by a dirty window.

'What are you doin' here, commoner?' My face twists. How could he be here sooner than I? How could he have outmatched me?

'Whoa, what's the hostility for? I'm just checking out the system. Thought I could take a look, finally figure out where our lost friends might be.'

That IS the right thing to do - but it should be me to do that! 'You're way out of line, Tavros. You have no privilege to be here.'

He smiles at me... It's not the face of kindness that he shows me, not the face of Tavros. It's the face of a leader, a king. 'Privilege? And what gives you the right to deem whether or not I have it?'

Such... power is unfitting of him. I can't respond. I don't know how. Do I speak to him as his leader or subordinate? How can this lowblood be the first to make me feel so overshadowed.

'Why don't you go back to your room, Eridan? I'll see what I can find.'

Somehow, his word is enough to send me away. Before my mind can get around to it, my legs are already carrying me back where I started. I decide to stick to my stuffed servants, for a while.

The door welcomes me back with open arms... Oh, of course it doesn't. All of this was a pointless farce. As if I could ever really bring the hope of having a true leader to this place. Stupid. It's all thanks to the puppets. Worthless dolls, they clouded my mind! I grab them all and throw them out, one by one. Can't be bothered to burn them, though. I close the door and sit on the ground, legs stretched out before me. My head falls back to hit the door behind me, as I allow myself to rest on it. I realize there's nothing to do whatsoever. I thought roleplaying would be fine, but it ended up clouding my judgement... I close my eyes. Darkness dissapears from my mind, as if shutting off light from the outside lit up a candle on the inside.

My entire life, dreams of grandeur have dominated my existence. Every waking hour I would think of being a great leader, a sucessful upperclassman, a handsome and loving husband. And I spent every day thinking about that. I called it "plotting", yes, but was there really any strategy to it? I'm not so sure. It feels as if I were only imagining the best moments of my future as I saw it, but at no point had I done anything to ensure its coming. And now, when there is no future to strive towards, the truth hits me - all of it was worthless from the beggining. I was weak, a pitiful dreamer, with no real determination to achieve my goal. Even a brown-blooded commoner can surpass me with ease. 

The floor is cold, the door is hard. There's no reason to keep sitting down like this. I stand up and drag myself over to the bed. Without taking off my glasses, I let myself fall upon the sheets, and lie down diagonally. My knees rest upon the cold, hard metal frame, but I don't mind too much. Soon, I close my eyes again, but this time, there is no light.


End file.
